April 4, 2009

725 years ago
1284

Died on this date
Alfonso X, 62. King of Castile and Leَn, 1252-1284. Alfonso X "the Wise" acceded to the throne upon the death of his father Ferdinand III. He was chosen by a dissident faction in Germany to be King of Germany in 1257, but renounced that claim in 1275. King Alfonso created an alliance with England in 1254, and renounced his claim to Gascony. He encouraged learning, and his court included Jews, Muslims, and Christians. Alfonso X engaged in a successful war against Portugal, a less successful war against Grenada, and in his later years, a civil war against his son Sancho IV, who took the throne after King Alfonso died.

80 years ago
1929

Died on this date
Karl Benz, 84. German automotive engineer. Mr. Benz invented the first practical automobile--the Benz Patent Motorcar--in 1885. His company merged with Daimler in 1926, with the brand name becoming known as Mercedes-Benz. Mr. Benz died of a bronchial inflammation.

70 years ago
1939

Died on this date
Ghazi, 26. King of Iraq, 1933-1939. Ghazi succeeded his father Faisal I on the Hashemite throne. He died under mysterious circumstances in an accident involving a sports car that he was driving. Ghazi was succeeded as king by his 3-year-old son Faisal II.

Diplomacy
Canada recognized the government of Generalissimo Francisco Franco of Spain, following the end of the Spanish Civil War.

60 years ago
1949

On the radio
The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring John Stanley and George Spelvin (Wendell Holmes), on MBS
Tonight's episode: The Adventure of the Elusive Agent, Part 3

Radio City Playhouse, on NBC
Tonight's episode: Wardrobe Trunk

Wardrobe Trunk was written by Cornell Woolrich, under the pseudonym William Irish.

Defense
The North Atlantic Treaty was signed in Washington. The signatories were the United States; United Kingdom; France; Canada; Portugal; Italy; Norway; Denmark; Belgium; the Netherlands; Luxembourg; and Iceland. The goal of NATO was, in the words of its first Secretary General, Lord Ismay, was "to keep the Russians out, the Americans in, and the Germans down."

World events
The Bulgarian government announced the dismissal and arrest of Deputy Premier Tricho Kostov for espousing "nationalistic" policies similar to those of Yugoslavian President Marshal Josip Broz Tito.

Politics and government
The New Jersey State Senate completed action on a series of bills requiring loyalty oaths from all public employees and elected officials.

Technology
The U.S. National Bureau of Standards reported the development of a non-magnetic compass for polar navigation.

Journalism
A court in Paris awarded anti-Communist author Victor Kravchenko 150,000 francs plus court costs in a libel suit against the French Communist journal Lettres Francaises.

Basketball
BAA
Finals
Washington 84 @ Minneapolis 88 (Minneapolis led best-of-seven series 1-0)

George Mikan scored 42 points for the Lakers as they beat the Capitols before 8,210 fans at Minneapolis Auditorium. Fred Scolari led Washington scorers with 20 points.

50 years ago
1959

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Smoke Gets in Your Eyes--The Platters (8th week at #1)

#1 single in Italy: Smoke Gets in Your Eyes--The Platters (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Tom Dooley--The Kingston Trio (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (Record Mirror): Side Saddle--Russ Conway

U.S. top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Venus--Frankie Avalon (5th week at #1)
2 Come Softly to Me--The Fleetwoods
3 It's Just a Matter of Time--Brook Benton
4 Charlie Brown--The Coasters
5 Never Be Anyone Else But You--Ricky Nelson
6 Pink Shoe Laces--Dodie Stevens
7 Tragedy--Thomas Wayne with the DeLons
8 (Now and Then There’s) A Fool Such as I--Elvis Presley
9 Alvin's Harmonica--David Seville and the Chipmunks
10 It's Late--Ricky Nelson

Singles entering the chart were "Yep!" by Duane Eddy and the Rebels (#51); Someone by Johnny Mathis (#64); Three Stars by Tommy Dee with Carol Kay and the Teen-Aires (#79); Almost Grown (#86)/Little Queenie (#91) by Chuck Berry; That's My Little Suzie by Ritchie Valens (#89); Take a Message to Mary by the Everly Brothers (#91); So Fine by the Fiestas (#96); You Can't Be True Dear by the Mary Kaye Trio (#98); Only You (Loin de Vous) by Franck Pourcel’s French Fiddles (#99); Rockin' Crickets by the Hot-Toddys (#100); and The Kissing Tree by Billy Grammer (#100).

Canada's top 25
1 It's Just a Matter of Time--Brook Benton
2 Come Softly to Me--The Fleetwoods
3 Venus--Frankie Avalon
4 Alvin's Harmonica--David Seville and the Chipmunks
5 Never Be Anyone Else But You--Ricky Nelson
6 Tragedy--Thomas Wayne with the DeLons
7 Charlie Brown--The Coasters
8 Pink Shoe Laces--Dodie Stevens
9 If I Didn't Care--Connie Francis
10 It's Late--Ricky Nelson
11 The Hawaiian Wedding Song (Ke Kali Nei Au)--Andy Williams
12 Tomboy--Perry Como
13 No Other Arms, No Other Lips--The Chordettes
14 I've Had It--The Bell Notes
15 Please Mr. Sun--Tommy Edwards
16 For a Penny--Pat Boone
17 It Doesn't Matter Anymore--Buddy Holly
18 Heavenly Lover--Teresa Brewer
19 Peter Gunn--Ray Anthony and his Orchestra
20 Petite Fleur (Little Flower)--Chris Barber's Jazz Band
21 The Tijuana Jail--The Kingston Trio
22 Where were You (On Our Wedding Day)?--Lloyd Price
23 Guitar Boogie Shuffle--The Virtues
24 Since I Don't Have You--The Skyliners
25 The Happy Organ--Dave "Baby" Cortez

Montreal's top 20
1 Venus--Frankie Avalon
2 Come Softly to Me--The Fleetwoods
3 It's Just a Matter of Time--Brook Benton
4 Pink Shoe Laces--Dodie Stevens
5 Never Be Anyone Else But You--Ricky Nelson
6 Alvin's Harmonica--David Seville and the Chipmunks
7 Tomboy--Perry Como
8 Charlie Brown--The Coasters
9 The Hawaiian Wedding Song (Ke Kali Nei Au)--Andy Williams
10 French Foreign Legion--Frank Sinatra
11 Please Mr. Sun--Tommy Edwards
12 Tragedy--Thomas Wayne with the DeLons
13 Peter Gunn--Ray Anthony and his Orchestra
14 Petite Fleur (Little Flower)--Chris Barber's Jazz Band
15 Heavenly Lover--Teresa Brewer
16 If I Didn't Care--Connie Francis
17 I Got Plenty of Nothin'--Fred Darian
18 Moonlight Serenade--Tommy Leonetti
19 It's Late--Ricky Nelson
20 Stagger Lee--Lloyd Price
Coming up fast: For a Penny--Pat Boone

Died on this date
Benjamin Lacayo Sacasa, 75. President of Nicaragua, 1947. Mr. Lacayo was President of the lower chamber of National Congress of Nicaragua in 1933 and 1947, and was installed as President on May 26, 1947, with the help of former president Anastasio Somoza García. After less than three months in office, Mr. Lacayo was deposed by a coup that installed Víctor Manuel Román y Reyes as President.

George Amick, 34. U.S. auto racing driver. Mr. Amick competed in 43 United States Auto Club races in Championship Cars, with 3 wins. He failed to qualify for the 1957 Indianapolis 500, but finished second in 1958, his first appearance in the race. Mr. Amick was killed in a crash on the final lap of the only USAC race ever run at Daytona International Speedway in Florida; he was attempting to pass Rodger Ward for third place, and hit a wall.

Diplomacy
The United States delivered a memorandum to U.S.S.R. representatives at the Berlin Air Safety Centre, rejecting Soviet efforts to impose a ceiling of 10,000 feet on Western military planes. Meanwhile, the Soviet Foreign Ministry protested to the United States that "premeditated violation...of the established order of air communication with Berlin" by U.S. transport planes was intended to "worsen conditions" for the forthcoming East-West foreign ministers conference on Germany.

Politics and government
Sudanese political leader Modibo Keita was named the first Prime Minister of the Mali Federation.

Economics and finance
U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower urged the United States to liberalize trade with Japan.

Auto racing
Jim Rathmann won the 100-mile United States Auto Club Championship Car race at Daytona International Speedway in Florida; his brother Dick finished second, with Rodger Ward third, as George Amick was killed in a crash attempting to pass Mr. Ward on the last lap. The average speed of 170.26 miles per hour made it the fastest race ever to that time.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Semi-Finals
Boston 5 @ Toronto 4 (Best-of-seven series tied 3-3)
Montreal 5 @ Chicago 4 (Montreal won best-of-seven series 4-2)

Bronco Horvath scored with 7:04 remaining in regulation time to break a 4-4 tie as the Bruins edged the Maple Leafs at Maple Leaf Gardens. Johnny Bucyk scored 2 goals for Boston and Frank Mahovlich scored twice for Toronto, including a shorthanded goal at 7:37 of the 3rd period to tie the score 4-4.

Claude Provost's second goal of the game, with 1:28 remaining in regulation time broke a 4-4 tie and enabled the Canadiens to eliminate the Black Hawks before more than 18,000 fans at Chicago Stadium, the largest crowd at a hockey game anywhere in 12 years. The winning goal came right after Chicago's Bobby Hull stepped on the stick of Montreal's Junior Langlois and went down. Chicago fans thought Mr. Langlois should have been penalized for tripping, and when no penalty was called and Montreal scored, some fans respnded by ripping seats out of their chairs and throwing them on the ice. At least a couple of fans ran onto the ice to attack referee Red Storey, and Montreal defenceman Doug Harvey clubbed one of the fans over the head with his stick. When National Hockey League President Clarence Campbell declined to publicly support Mr. Storey for his call, Mr. Storey resigned, and never officiated another NHL game. Dickie Moore also scored 2 goals for the Canadiens, while Ted Lindsay and Ed Litzenberger each scored twice for the Black Hawks, with Mr. Lindsay's second goal, with 5:28 remaining in regulation time, tying the score 4-4.

Basketball
NBA
Finals
Minneapolis 115 @ Boston 118 (Boston led best-of-seven series 1-0)

Frank Ramsey scored 29 points and Tom Heinsohn added 24, while Bill Russell grabbed 28 rebounds to help the Celtics defeat the Lakers before 8,195 fans at Boston Garden. Elgin Baylor led Minneapolis scorers with 34 points, and grabbed 11 rebounds.

40 years ago
1969

Hit parade
Vancouver's Top 10 (CKLG)
1 Galveston--Glen Campbell
2 You've Made Me So Very Happy--Blood, Sweat & Tears
3 Indian Giver--1910 Fruitgum Co.
4 Dizzy--Tommy Roe
5 Games People Play--Joe South
6 Hot Smoke & Sasafrass--The Bubble Puppy
7 Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In (The Flesh Failures)--The 5th Dimension
8 You Gave Me a Mountain--Frankie Laine
9 Gimme Gimme Good Lovin'--Crazy Elephant
10 Things I'd Like to Say--The New Colony Six

Singles entering the chart were Hair by the Cowsills (#26); Sweet Cherry Wine by Tommy James and the Shondells (#27); First of May by the Bee Gees (#28); No, Not Much by the Vogues (#29); and Pinball Wizard by the Who (#30).

Edmonton's top 10 (CJCA)
1 Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In (The Flesh Failures)--The 5th Dimension
2 Things I'd Like to Say--The New Colony Six
3 Dizzy--Tommy Roe
4 Galveston--Glen Campbell
5 Time of the Season--The Zombies
6 Long Green--The Fireballs
7 Indian Giver--1910 Fruitgum Co.
8 To Susan on the West Coast Waiting--Donovan
9 Rock Me--Steppenwolf
10 Mendocino--Sir Douglas Quintet

Medicine
A team led by Dr. Denton Cooley performed the world's first total artificial heart transplant on a human in Houston, Texas. The artificial heart, which was linked to an electric pump, was about the size as the human heart and made of Dacron and plastic. The recipient, Haskell Karp, was kept alive by the artificial heart for three days until a heart donor could be located.

Crime
Henry Loeb, the mayor of Memphis, Tennessee, put his city under a curfew and stopped the sale of alcohol and some gasoline after young Negroes began smashing windows along Main and Beale Streets. Mr. Loeb's action came as Senator Edward Kennedy was a t city hall eulogizing Martin Luther King on the first anniversary of his assassination.

Disasters
Four people died in a fire in the high-pressure oxygen treatment room of Tokyo University Hospital.

Hockey
CHL
Adams Cup
Semi-Finals
Dallas 4 @ Omaha 3 (Dallas led best-of-five series 1-0)
Oklahoma City 3 @ Tulsa 2 (Oklahoma City led best-of-seven series 2-1)

30 years ago
1979

Died on this date
Edgar Buchanan, 76. U.S. actor. Mr. Buchanan was a gravelly-voiced character actor who appeared in numerous movies and television programs, but was best known for starring as the title character in the Western television series Judge Roy Bean (1955-1956) and as Uncle Joe Carson in the comedy series Petticoat Junction (1963-1970). He died of a stroke complicated by pneumonia, 15 days after his 76th birthday.

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, 51. 4th President of Pakistan, 1971-1973; Prime Minister of Pakistan, 1973-1977. Mr. Bhutto, a nationalist and socialist, held various cabinet posts from 1958-1966, including Foreign Minister (1963-1966), and founded the Pakistan People's Party in 1967. He took office as President on December 20, 1971, shortly after East Pakistan had seceded to become the independent nation of Bangladesh, and Pakistan's military defeat by India. Mr. Bhutto's government achieved the adoption of a new constitution in 1973, and Pakistan became an Islamic republic with a parliamentary form of government, Mr. Bhutto resigned as President and took office as Prime Minister. His government pursued socialist economic reforms, the acquisition of nuclear weapons, and a foreign policy away from the West and friendlier toward Arab countries and China. Mr. Bhutto became increasingly unpopular, and he was deposed by a military coup in July 1977; two months later, he was charged with authorizing the 1974 murder of an opponent. After a five-month trial that was criticized by impartial observers as a mockery of justice, Mr. Bhutto was found not guilty of murder, but was sentenced to death. An appeal on his behalf resulted in a guilty verdict in February 1979, with a further appeal dismissed by the Supreme Court a month later. Despite international calls for clemency, Mr. Bhutto was hanged at Central Jail Rawalpindi. His daughter Benazir later became Prime Minister, and his son Murtaza became a member of parliament; both were assassinated.

War
Exile forces hostile to dictator Idi Amin and their Tanzanian allies continued their invasion of Uganda, assaulting the capital of Kampala.

Vietnam requested peace talks with China to seek resumption of normal relations, dropping its demand that China withdraw her troops before beginning negotiations.

Scandal
A U.S. House of Representatives ethics panel charged Rep. Charles Diggs (Democrat--Michigan) with 18 counts of violating House rules. Mr. Diggs had been convicted on federal charges of payroll padding and accepting kickbacks from his staff.

Disasters
Federal investigators reported to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that a combination of human, mechanical, and design errors were responsible for the near-disaster at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania.

Baseball
The major league baseball season opened.

25 years ago
1984

Defense
U.S. President Ronald Reagan announced that the United States would soon propose a "comprehensive worldwide ban on chemical weapons." He accused the U.S.S.R. and Iraq of using chemical weapons against Afghanistan and Iran, respectively, and that the U.S.A. had been forced to "maintain a limited retaliatory capability of its own" to counter the Soviet arsenal. Mr. Reagan called for strict verification measures.

Protest
More than 30 women protesting the presence of U.S. Cruise missiles were evicted from Greenham Common in Berkshire, England.

Hockey
The Stanley Cup playoffs began. In Alberta, the Calgary Flames defeated the Vancouver Canucks 5-3 at the Olympic Saddledome, while the Edmonton Oilers whipped the Winnipeg Jets 9-2 at Northlands Coliseum. At Boston Garden, rookie Chris Chelios scored to give the Montreal Canadiens a 2-1 win over the Boston Bruins. The winning goalie was another rookie, Steve Penney, who had played in just 4 games for the Canadiens during the regular season, and had lost them all.

20 years ago
1989

Diplomacy
Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev addressed the Cuban National Assembly in Havana, and in an apparent warning to his hosts, said that the Soviet Union "categorically opposed...the export of revolution or counterrevolution and all forms of foreign interference in the affairs of sovereign states." He said that the U.S.S.R. would stop aiding the Sandanista regime in Nicaragua if the U.S.A. halted military aid to America's Central American allies.

Baseball
With 2 out and the bases loaded in the bottom of the 9th inning, Damaso Garcia singled home Rex Hudler, and Tim Raines followed with a bases-loaded walk to force home Nelson Santovenia with the winning run as the Montreal Expos rallied from a 5-3 8th-inning deficit to edge the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-5 to open the season before 35,154 fans in the first game played at Olympic Stadium in Montreal since the installation of a permanent roof. Pittsburgh leadoff hitter Barry Bonds batted 4 for 4 with a home run, triple, stolen base, and 2 runs.

10 years ago
1999

Died on this date
Lucille Lortel, 98. U.S. actress and producer. Miss Lortel, born Lucille Wadler, appeared in numerous Broadway plays in New York in the 1920s and '30s before retiring from acting to become a producer of Broadway and Off-Broadway plays. She produced or co-produced almost 500 plays, five of which were nominated for Tony Awards.

Early Wynn, 79. U.S. baseball pitcher and sportscaster. Mr. Wynn played with the Washington Nationals (1939, 1941-1944, 1946-1948); Cleveland Indians (1949-1957, 1963); and Chicago White Sox (1958-1962), compiling a record of 300-244 with an earned run average of 3.54 in 691 games, batting .214 with 17 home runs and 173 runs in 796 games. He tied for the American League lead in wins in 1954 (23), and led the league in 1959 (22); led the league in strikeouts in 1957 (184) and 1958 (1979); and in earned run average in 1950 (3.20). Mr. Wynn was known for his willingness to throw brushback pitches at hitters or knock them down. Gout forced him into retirement as a player, and he served as pitching coach with the Indians (1964-1966) and Minnesota Twins (1967-1969), and as a radio broadcaster with the Toronto Blue Jays (1977-1981) and Chicago White Sox (1982-1983). Mr. Wynn was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972, and died after heart complications and a stroke.

War
North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces began attacking Serbian troops and armoured vehicles. Serbia reversed its position and announced that it would not try three captured American soldiers, but would free them when the bombing stopped. Several NATO countries agreed to take in refugees forced out of Kosovo.